Temple Alzheimer’s studies under scrutiny | Morning Newsletter
🍷 How Dry January impacts your wallet
The Morning Newsletter
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This is Thursday. It’s mostly cloudy and a bit breezy, with a high near 35. Forecasters expect snow to fall across the region again before dawn on Friday.
Domenico Praticò, a scientist at Temple University, helped secure a $3.8 million state grant to study Alzheimer’s disease. The school praised his efforts to make them “a national leader in dementia research,” but critics claim there are serious flaws in Praticò's work. Today’s lead story takes a closer look at the allegations of research misconduct, and who Praticò says is to blame for the errors.
— Paola Pérez (@pdesiperez, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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In 2020, Temple University officials were made aware of concerns that Domenico Praticò, a professor in pharmacology and microbiology, improperly reused or altered images in his studies on Alzheimer’s, which in turn made his findings appear stronger than they really were.
After a group of Praticò's colleagues urged the university’s board of trustees to launch an investigation due to “numerous instances of data incongruency” in his work, scientific journals retracted four of Praticò's studies. A total of 36 of his studies are under scrutiny by critics on PubPeer, a public peer-review site.
One of those critics is Elisabeth Bik, a former Stanford University microbiologist who now works as a science integrity consultant for publishers, universities, and attorneys. She said the cutthroat pressures of academic publishing can tempt people to cut corners.
In Praticò's research, Bik pointed to instances where Praticò or his colleagues appeared to digitally cut and paste images and graphs from past experiments. “It suggests an intention to mislead, or a sign of sloppiness at best,” Bik said.
Praticò denies any research misconduct. But in a new lawsuit, he accused a former grad student of copying images, and is suing for defamation and fraud.
Notable quote: “Dr. Praticò has no comment, other than he categorically denies engaging in scientific misconduct,” said Christopher Ezold, Praticò's attorney.
Temple officials would not comment on the allegations against Praticò.
A growing problem: Research misconduct is at a record high. More than 10,000 research papers were retracted due to deliberate fabrication, major errors or other serious flaws in 2023, according to an analysis by the journal Nature.
Keep reading for more on the alleged inconsistencies and the consequences of research integrity.
How much would you save if participating in Dry January? It depends on what you drink.
Dry January challenges people to cut out alcohol for 30 days. (There’s also Damp January, which encourages mindful drinking.) A month without booze can mean:
🍷 better sleep
🍷 weight loss
🍷 increased energy
🍷 lower blood pressure and cholesterol
Another welcomed benefit: saving money. That is, if you go easy on the mocktails.
The availability of more “mocktails” and nonalcoholic beers makes it easier to stick to the challenge, but they can also make it more expensive.
Keep reading for more on zero-proof bars and bottle shops in Philly and see how much a dry month can save you.
What you should know today
SWAT officers shot and killed a 73-year-old man early Wednesday morning after police said he fired at officers from his pickup truck in the Rhawnhurst section of the city.
Temple University is the latest local college to face a federal probe over its handling of antisemitism complaints on campus. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights dropped its investigation into antisemitism allegations at the University of Pennsylvania, but the dismissal is not related to the merit of the case.
A ninth person in Philadelphia has tested positive for measles. The outbreak began last month at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and spread to a day-care center on Castor Avenue.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and a majority of the Philadelphia-area congressional delegation are urging the Biden administration to “prioritize SEPTA,” which is facing deep service cuts in the next several months.
Two Philadelphia women say they were seriously injured after children rammed them with electric scooters while they shopped at a Target store in Cherry Hill.
The 6abc helicopter that crashed in New Jersey last month, killing its pilot and a photographer, had no engine problems that would have prevented normal operation, according to a preliminary report from the NTSB.
Some Philly homeless shelters have gone months or years without being paid by the city, all while the office has overspent its budget by $15 million.
A Hyatt hotel may be coming to the Navy Yard’s historic barracks, and it could open as soon as 2026.
Pennsylvania’s rent and property tax rebate program now allows more older adults and adults with disabilities to apply for rebates, thanks to the program’s first expansion in 17 years.
The date and start time for this year’s Broad Street Run have been announced. The race will finish in the Navy Yard for the first time in three years.
🧠 Trivia time
A star from Aquaman was sighted at a local Philly dive bar this week.
Who was it?
A) Patrick Wilson
B) Amber Heard
C) Jason Momoa
D) Nicole Kidman
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we're...
📍 Testing: Our knowledge of Philly-based movies by guessing where they were filmed.
🥣 Enjoying: A warm bowl of soup to fight off the winter chill.
🦅 Remembering: Jason Kelce’s career as an Eagle by the numbers and in pictures.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Go skiing at this mountain resort
BRACE REEK
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Rosemary Farley who correctly guessed Wednesday’s answer: Jason Kelce.
Photo of the day
☕ It’s time for some cafecito. Thanks for hanging out this morning, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.
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